Fishing Report

June 21, 2009

Complements of Mosquito Creek Outdoors, Apopka, FL

The doldrums have settled into Central Florida right in time for the first day of summer with average high temperatures reaching the 95 degree mark. Hot is the key word here, because hot is the term best describing our catching this past week. The summer doldrums are a short period of time when the sea breezes control our weather, just before the influence of our tropics take effect and the cold water upwelling arrive. The doldrums result in a slick calm Atlantic “Lake Atlantic”, with seas of less than two feet. It also results are clear blue ocean water all the way to the beach and very hot conditions.

This past week, I made three trips out of Port Canaveral all resulting in quality catches of large jacks, bonito, kingfish and tarpon. My first adventure was with my good friend Steve Chapman, as we ran south, finding a huge school of bonito, jacks and tarpon off of Melbourne Beach in about 30 feet of water. The school was pushing hard on the surface and every cast resulted in an instant hook-up. Steve was first to score throwing a Top Dog, but the bonito he caught inhaled the plug and the removal resulted in a dead fish. Gang hooks can be dangerous for both the angler and the fish, especially with big fish, so we switched to DOA Bait Busters and Storm Wild Eye Shad, and commenced to catch one big fish after another. Of course, each fish resulted in a 20 to 30 minute battle due to a size range of 15 to 30 pounds. There were also plenty of tarpon around, but you couldn’t get the bait past the jacks and bonito. We also found some nice tripletail, for which Steve took several home for supper.

My next two adventures with my good friend Larry Carter resulted in similar situations, with the addition of some smoker kingfish and a huge silver king, (tarpon). The kingfish have moved in close along the beach to spawn on the new moon, and they have been feeding in the range of 30-feet of water. For tarpon, simply look for bait pods along the beach with rolling tarpon, and free line live pogies or finger mullet back into the frenzy and hang on. My best tarpon this week was in the 120 pound range, but she broke off late in the battle (20 minutes) as I failed to bow to her as she jumped.

This is my favorite time of year to fish near-shore, but conditions can become dangerous due to the concentration of anglers trolling in close proximity to each other and loading and launching at the ramp, so please be courteous and patient while on the water.

I also received similar reports of near-shore fish coming from Ponce inlet and Sebastian, so don’t hesitate and miss all of the fun.

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Fishing Forecast

July, 2009

Complements of Mosquito Creek Outdoors, Apopka, FL

We have all heard the adage, “If a frog had wings, it wouldn’t bump its butt when it hops”. Well if is the key word when trying to predict fishing quality and conditions on the Indian River Lagoon Coast in July. Two major phenomena can directly impact our offshore waters during the summer, and predicting their influence is anyone’s guess.

First, during the early part of July a coldwater upwelling known as the Labrador Current moves in from the depths of the Atlantic chilling the water column from the bottom up. The influx of the upwelling varies from year to year, and it is impossible to predict. The Labrador Current has been known to chill ocean water temperatures as low as 50 degrees on bad years, and have very little effect of good ones. The second major influence is the impact of tropical weather systems (Summer Squalls) as they brush up against the Florida coast on their way north. Again, we know how tough it is to predict hurricanes, but these tropical systems can kick up some serious seas, even from a thousand miles away.

Offshore, the Gulf Stream water temperatures are fairly consistent in July and August and if the summer squalls stay away, they are excellent months to target yellow fin tuna for those willing to make the long run east (70 to 150 miles). July also marks the beginning of the mid summer doldrums bringing calmer seas, making the long ride to the other side of the Gulf Stream smoother and accessible even for smaller boats.

Bottom fishing will remain good in July if the cold water stays away, but when it begins to push in, many species will either move in closer to shore seeking warmer water, or hightail it south. Depending on the magnitude of the coldwater influx, some bluewater species will move inshore along the reefs and wrecks like Chris Benson, 8A, and Pelican Flats, with kingfish, dolphin, and cobia serving as the primary species. Also, cooler water has the tendency to push manta rays up on to the sandy shoals off of the Space Center, thus creating a mid summer cobia run.

Along the beaches pods of pogies (Atlantic menhaden), greenies (thread fin herring), and glass minnows (bay anchovies) move in close to the beach bringing large tarpon, smoker kings, blacktip and spinner sharks, jack crevalle, and redfish with them. Also, look for snook fishing in the surf to improve as we get closer to the commencement of the fall bait run. Remember, snook are out of season June, July, and August, so if you target them, please handle and release them with extreme care.

In the lagoons sea trout and redfish are the primary targets on the flats. Concentrate your efforts in areas of mullet schools using top water plugs in early morning and late afternoon hours, and at night. Once the sun grows hot and the top water bite slows, switch to live bait (pigfish) or jigs fished on the deeper edges of the flats. Also July and August is the time of year when large schools of ladyfish and smaller sea trout shadow the schools of glass minnows in the deeper water. Last but not least, look for the pompano schools to be moving into the shadows around the causeway bridges where a well placed jig tipped with either sand fleas or fresh shrimp will provide a tasty meal.

As always, nature holds the upper hand in setting the stage for July and August, so we just have to play it by ear and catch some fish, and if you hold your mouth right, you may just catch a love bug or two.

Good Luck and Good Fishing,

Captain Tom Van Horn